The great Christian military and political leader, Charlemagne (King Charles in The Song of Roland), was crowned “Holy Roman Emperor” by the Pope on
Christmas Day in 800 A.D. This crowning symbolized the ideal of consolidated—or fused—institutions of politics, government and Christianity. Charlemagne’s
consolidation of central Europe at that time, indeed, came to be synonymous with “Christendom”—a geo-political and religious empire. The Song of Roland
suggests an idea that grows into an important element in the notion of “Christendom” through the ensuing centuries of the Middle Ages (and beyond): the
concept of a divinely-sanctioned military mission of conquest and expansionism. In other words, God–and the power of his will and force–is very much on
Charlemagne’s side and very much against the non-Christian others (Muslims) whose culture the text represents as inferior. This ideology is not unlike the
United States’ “Manifest Destiny” rationale for subordinating indigenous native-American cultures in the nineteenth century’s explosion of European-American
culture across the continent.
Discuss how The Song of Roland suggests this. You may wish to consider the text of the following lais (section) #’s 79, 89, 92, 113, 126, 140, 166, 179, 183,
and 291. Upload a brief but well-supported response to this issue. Of course, include specific quotes from and references to the text.